The Provincial Court hears guardianship, parenting, contact and support, but it cannot divide property (other than a companion animal) or pensions. Rule 7 of its family rules picks the registry. An existing file between the same people anchors everything to its registry. Without one, a case about a child starts at the registry nearest the residence where the child spends most of their time, and any other case at the registry nearest the residence of the person who files first.
Rule 7 gives no method for measuring nearness, by road or in a straight line, and it draws no lines across Coquitlam. For homes in the north and east of the city, including City Centre, Westwood Plateau and Burke Mountain, Port Coquitlam may be the more likely answer. For homes in the southwest, around Burquitlam, Maillardville or Austin Heights, the answer may be New Westminster. These are illustrations, not a boundary. Distance is not the whole story either: an earlier file keeps its registry, and with the court’s permission an application about protection or a priority parenting matter may be made anywhere. If your home could go either way, check with the registry or raise it with us before anything is filed, since every later document follows the file.
What happens before a Provincial Court application
Both registries are early resolution registries. Unless the rules say otherwise, someone seeking a Provincial Court order there must first file a Form 1 notice to resolve, give the other party a copy, attend a needs assessment, complete a parenting education program and try at least one consensual dispute resolution session, mediation being the usual one. The responding party has the same assessment, program and session to complete before replying.
Not everyone does all of it. The needs assessor may excuse the parenting program, for instance when spousal support is the sole issue, all the children are 19 or over, or the program is not available in a language the person is fluent in. Mediation drops away if the assessor finds no service is accessible, or if the assessor or mediator judges it unsuitable. The whole sequence is skipped when someone applies only for consent, protection, relocation, enforcement or case management orders, or a priority parenting matter, and for a support-only claim whose rights were assigned to the government. An applicant who has finished the steps may go ahead even if the other side never takes part.
Each registry has a Family Justice Centre that delivers the free assessment and mediation services:
- Port Coquitlam Family Justice Centre, 2610 Mary Hill Road, 604-927-2217
- New Westminster Family Justice Centre, Suite 204, 88 10th Street, 604-660-8636
Our family mediation lawyers can prepare you for the session or act in a private mediation.
Which courthouse: the Supreme Court as a practical choice
A divorce, and the division of property, debt and pensions, belong in the Supreme Court. Since June 9, 2025 the Port Coquitlam Law Courts have had a full Supreme Court registry, and a notice of family claim filed there may name Port Coquitlam as the place of trial. New Westminster remains the other nearby registry.
We found no Supreme Court Family Rule that ties a Coquitlam address to either one. The rules settle three narrower points: the notice of family claim names the place of trial, which the court may change; the notice of trial goes to the registry that opened the case; and a judge may transfer a file on application. The choice is practical: where each spouse lives and which building the parties and witnesses can reach. Settle it before the claim is issued.
Interpreters and translation: three separate questions
After English, Mandarin, Korean, Cantonese and Persian were the most common mother tongues in Coquitlam at the 2021 census; that says nothing about how many family cases need an interpreter, but it is why this section is here.
Interpreters in the courtroom. The answer depends on the court. In a Provincial Court family proceeding, the Province’s Court Services Branch provides a spoken-language interpreter at no charge. In the Supreme Court, sign language interpretation is provided, but the Province’s guidance is that a spoken-language interpreter is provided only if the court orders one; in a Divorce Act proceeding, an interpreter for English or French can be requested. Without such an order, do not assume one will be supplied or paid for; raise it with your lawyer well before any hearing. Either way, tell the registry’s interpreter clerk early; a hearing may be rescheduled if none can be booked.
Meetings and paperwork outside court. Court interpreters work only in the courtroom. For meetings with a lawyer, conversations with court staff and filling in forms, you arrange your own interpreter; registries cannot recommend one. A Family Justice Centre may arrange interpretation for its own services, such as a meeting with a family justice counsellor.
Sworn evidence. Evidence in a Supreme Court family case is often given by affidavit. If the person swearing it does not understand English, rule 10-4(7) of the Supreme Court Family Rules requires a competent interpreter to interpret the affidavit to them and to certify that on the affidavit. A document in another language, such as a foreign marriage certificate, should be translated before it is filed.
Several of our lawyers work in Korean, Punjabi, Tagalog, or conversational Mandarin or Spanish (see below). For other languages, tell us at the start so an interpreter can be arranged.
Marriages, divorces and property in another country
Where you married does not matter for a BC divorce. The Divorce Act gives a BC court jurisdiction when either spouse’s habitual residence has been in the province for the full year before the proceeding starts. The marriage certificate, or proof of registration of the marriage, is filed with the claim, with a translation if it is not in English. Both international divorce in Canada and when a spouse does not live in Canada walk through the process.
A divorce granted abroad is a different question. Section 22 of the Divorce Act recognises one granted where either former spouse had lived habitually in that country for a year or more before it started, and it preserves the other recognition rules, so missing that test is not the end of the question. Recognition decides whether you are free to remarry here, so have it checked before relying on it.
Property outside BC can still be part of a BC case: where it has jurisdiction, the Supreme Court can make orders about property abroad that would be enforceable there, or give effect to the division with property in BC or a compensation payment. Under section 108 of the Family Law Act, a community property regime can govern if the spouses’ first common habitual residence was somewhere that uses one. Mason Heller’s practice includes dividing foreign and domestic assets, and Susan Kim acts where property and businesses sit in more than one jurisdiction. More in our overview of international family law in Canada.
Children’s travel has its own fast track: a passport application, travel where consent is said to be wrongly refused, or stopping a child’s removal can be a priority parenting matter that does not wait for the early resolution steps. If a child may be taken out of BC and not returned, the court can prohibit removal, require security or order passports surrendered. A planned move with a child follows the relocation sections of the Family Law Act or, for a Divorce Act parenting order, sections 16.9 to 16.96 of that Act; which regime applies is a question to settle with a lawyer before any notice goes out. See custody when parents live in different countries.
When safety comes first
A protection order application does not wait for the early resolution steps, and the needs assessment screens for family violence. Outside the court process, Tri-City Transitions Society in Port Coquitlam runs a transition house and victim services for the Tri-Cities (office 604-941-7111), and VictimLinkBC answers around the clock, in many languages, at 1-800-563-0808. In an emergency, call 911. Our articles on the tort of family violence and on your rights if you leave the family home cover two questions people often ask at this stage.
Property, support and children: the province-wide rules
These rules apply across BC, so they are kept short here, with links to the full pages.
Property. Separation gives each spouse a half share of family property and of family debt unless an agreement or order provides otherwise, and couples who lived together in a marriage-like relationship for two years are covered too. The split can be changed by agreement, or by the Supreme Court where halves would be significantly unfair. Assets owned before the relationship, inheritances and gifts may be excluded, but any increase in their value while the couple were together is family property, and the burden of proving an exclusion falls on the spouse who claims it. See property division and whether family property is always divided equally.
The two-year limit. Section 198(2) of the Family Law Act gives two years to start a claim to divide property, family debt or a pension, or for spousal support. Unmarried spouses count from separation; married spouses count from the divorce judgment, so getting divorced before property and support are resolved sets the two years going. Section 198(5) suspends the time during family dispute resolution with a professional the Act recognises, or a prescribed process, although whether particular talks counted can itself be argued; note the dates and get advice rather than banking on it. More on how long after separation you can claim assets.
Support. The Federal Child Support Guidelines set child support from the payor’s income and the number of children, so the real work is usually pinning down income, especially business income or money earned abroad. Spousal support starts with entitlement, and amount and duration are then measured against the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. See our child support and spousal support pages, and how long spousal support lasts.
Children. The Family Law Act uses guardianship, parenting time and parental responsibilities rather than custody, and the Divorce Act adds decision-making responsibility, which includes decisions about a child’s culture and language. The only test is the child’s best interests. Where it helps, we can bring in child specialists, physicians or therapists so the child’s needs are clear to the court. See co-parenting responsibilities.
Agreements. A separation can be settled by a signed agreement after negotiation or mediation, and couples can set the rules in advance with a marriage or cohabitation agreement. An agreement reached with complete disclosure, each side separately advised, is much harder to set aside; one signed abroad or written in another language should be reviewed before you rely on it in BC. Our guide to separation laws in BC and what you may be entitled to in a divorce bring the pieces together, and our divorce lawyers handle agreed and contested divorce applications.
The lawyers on our family team
Judith A. Janzen leads the family practice as principal lawyer; she joined forces with Candace Cho, KC in 2012 and was called to the BC bar in 2000. Others you may work with:
- Rupinder Shoker, associate counsel (called 2011), with trial experience from Provincial Court to the BC Court of Appeal.
- Susan Kim, associate counsel (called 2000), who works in Korean and English on family and estate disputes.
- Rasjovan Dale, associate counsel (called 2018), who speaks Punjabi.
- Katya Richardson, associate counsel (called 2018), in family law and estate litigation, including prenuptial and cohabitation agreements; conversational Spanish.
- Mason Heller, associate lawyer (called 2019) and a New Westminster Bar Association member.
- Shivleen Sidhu, associate lawyer (called 2019), who practises only family law and speaks Punjabi.
- Louisa Ledesma, associate lawyer (called 2024), who speaks Tagalog and conversational Mandarin.
The whole firm is on our team page.
Common questions
We live in Maillardville. Will our Provincial Court case be in New Westminster?
It may be. The rule points to the registry closest to where the child mainly lives, and for parts of southwest Coquitlam that may be New Westminster, but the rule does not define “closest” and does not draw neighbourhood lines. Confirm with the registry before filing, because the case stays where it begins.
We married overseas. Can we divorce in Coquitlam?
Yes, as long as one of you has lived habitually in BC for the year before filing. You will need the marriage certificate, translated if it is not in English.
Will the court give me an interpreter?
In a Provincial Court family case, the court provides one at no charge. In the Supreme Court, a spoken-language interpreter is provided only if the court orders it, so raise it with your lawyer early. Meetings with a lawyer and help with forms are outside the court’s service.
What does a first meeting cost?
Ask about consultation fees when you call (604) 900-2538 or write to us. Family law work at Onyx is charged by the hour.
